1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention is related to a handling device for construction materials, and more particularly, to a device and method for handling building panels such as wall boards, ceiling panels and the like.
2. Background of the Related Art
In the construction of homes and other buildings, the interior walls and ceilings are commonly fabricated from large sheets of material which are secured to the upright studs forming the walls or horizontal joists forming the ceilings of the building. Often, these sheets of material are as large as 4 feet by 8 feet and are considerably heavy. Thus, it is particularly difficult for one person to precisely orient and properly secure a sheet of building material to a wall or ceiling, without the assistance of another person. As a result, the labor costs associated with construction can be rather high.
In the past, there have been several mechanical devices which were designed to enable a sole individual to manipulate and position large sheets of building material when constructing a building. Some of these devices were free standing structures. For example, U.S. Pat. No 1,725,329 to Blandford discloses a device including a pivoting panel holding platform mounted on a height-adjustable telescoping post. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,348 discloses a panel hoist having a telescoping mast assembly and a collapsible framework for supporting a building panel.
Other prior art devices were designed to be secured to the wall or ceiling to which the building panel was to be secured. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,290 to Paxton discloses an apparatus which includes a pair of spaced apart sheet material supporting pivot arms connected to one another by a rod and configured to be attached to spaced apart joists or studs. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,470 discloses a device which includes a plurality of angled cross-bars designed to be fastened to a building frame to support a building panel. Although both of these prior art devices are adequately designed to support a building panel adjacent a wall or ceiling, they provide no means for effectuating the precise positioning of the panel or for facilitating fine adjustment of the panel once it is in position.
As labor costs associated with building construction continue to increase at an alarming rate, is has become apparent that an improved panel handling device configured to support a building panel adjacent a wall or ceiling and enable a sole individual to precisely position and manipulate the panel would be desirable.